SUMMIT COUNTY, Colo. (KDVR) – The Colorado Avalanche Information Center confirmed two snowshoers and their dog were killed by a 400-foot-wide avalanche in an area west of Hoosier Pass.
Friends and family of Hannah Nash, 25, and Drake Oversen, 35, reported them as being overdue from their trip on Saturday.
Deputies from the Summit County Sheriff’s Office, volunteers from the Summit County Rescue Group and Flight for Life began searching areas west of the pass. They found a recent avalanche and a faint track in an area of interest on a flank of North Star Mountain.
An avalanche rescue dog located both snowshoers and their dog, Valerie, all of whom were completely buried by avalanche debris. All three were deceased when first responders found them.
Nash and Oversen were residents of Colorado Springs.
The Colorado Avalanche Information Center is still making a full report of the incident. The Summit County Office of the Coroner reported their manner of death as accidental and the cause of death as blunt force trauma and asphyxiation due to an avalanche of snow and debris.